MATTHEW OSBORNE: Tight race for Heisman runner-up

As Heisman voters, we are forbidden from revealing our final ballots before the announcement next weekend. Some people do not abide by this rule.

As such, we have straw polls popping up all over the internet, and one that I saw had one-third of the ballots collected leaving Jameis Winston off completely.

And yet, he was winning the poll by a landslide.

Such is the bizarre nature of this year’s Heisman race.

Some sanctimonious sportswriters are taking it upon themselves to judge Winston even though he was charged with nothing. Some of them are making some sort of mythical statement about morality when they have no basis to know what happened between Winston and his accuser.

I have cast one protest/judgment type vote in my time as a Heisman voter when I voted for Denard Robinson instead of the obvious choice, Cam Newton, in 2010. I did this because from the evidence I heard, I believed Newton was an ineligible player, a la ghost winner Reggie Bush.

Being ineligible is a different story from a crime that may never have taken place.

Here’s the reality – if someone had come to me with a tip that a prominent local athlete was being investigated in a sexual assault case, I would have told my reporter to monitor the investigation and bring me a story if he was charged.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have run a story at all. This begs the question, why did we hear about this at all?

The authorities involved should have investigated the claim fully and released their findings only if a charge was imminent.

We’ll never know what happened that night almost a year ago, but the investigation was done to the fullest extent of the law. All the while, the alleged victim’s attorney was allowed to make grandiose statements about Winston being a rapist.

The whole affair was handled poorly by all parties, and it ends up giving justice to no one.

As for the Heisman race, if there had been a strong second-place contender, these moral judgments may have given someone else a chance to win. But that isn’t likely to happen.

The only good thing that may come of it may be that a record number of guys get invited to New York this week. If you asked 10 people who would finish second on Saturday night, you might get 10 different answers.

Tre Mason of Auburn made a big statement in the SEC title game. Northern Illinois Jordan Lynch had a lot of support before a disappointing performance in the MAC title game, but still had a terrific year. Andre Williams cracked 2,000 yards for Boston College, but he might have to wear a tag that reads “Hi, my name is …” in New York later this week if gets the invite.

Alabama’s A.J. McCarron has had a small but loyal group of supporters all season, and Braxton Miller of Ohio State was gaining momentum until the fourth quarter of the Big Ten title game.

Baylor’s Bryce Petty had one monumental fail in the Oklahoma State game, and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota had two abysmal games.

So who’s it going to be? The runner-up, I mean.

Winston will be left off some ballots, but he’s going to win in a walk.

It is worth noting, though, that Heisman winners are 3-5 in BCS title games, so maybe he’s rooting for Mason.

-Matthew Osborne is the editor of The Trentonian and a Heisman Trophy voter. He can be reached at 609-989-7800, ext. 201, or mosborne@trentonian.com. Follow him on Twitter @trentonianozzy.